


The Torches Burn Bright

by slusher (aesoprock)



Category: Bully (Video Games)
Genre: Acting, Idiots in Love, M/M, References to Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet References, School Plays, Shakespeare Quotations, Slow Burn, Theatre, Theatre class, Vomiting, romeo and juliet - Freeform, this is one of the best things ive ever written. if you dont read you are simply missing out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:40:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24262978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aesoprock/pseuds/slusher
Summary: jimmy is blackmailed into being romeo for the bullworth spring play, and pinky brings a terrible fate upon gary when she doesn't study her lines.published 5/19/20 - 6/20/20
Relationships: Jimmy Hopkins/Gary Smith
Comments: 49
Kudos: 53





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [my homie andy beshear](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=my+homie+andy+beshear).



> "but tony! you hate romeo and juliet. why would you write this."
> 
> dunno lol

“Where’s-...?” Miss Peters began pacing around the stage, ripping the curtains open. “Where’s Beatrice?”

“I- I don’t know. She was here this morning, I think,” Algie spoke up. “But I can text her, if that’s-”

Earnest stepped forward, crossing his arms. “No, you idiot. She wasn’t here today,” he interrupted. “She’s in the hospital having gallbladder surgery. Beatrice told me herself.”

“What? Gallbladder surgery?... Well, how long does it take to recover from that? It’s a minor surgery, right?”

Earnest pulled out his phone, typing before coming to a result. “Um… up to six weeks,” he said.

“Up to six weeks?” Miss Peters sighs, shaking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose. “Petey! Is Petey in here? Someone needs to go fetch Pinky, and catch her up on her lines.” Pinky was the understudy for the role of Juliet, and seeing as the play would show in less than two weeks, there was some practicing she needed to do.

Petey nodded and walked down the steps from the stage. “I’ll find her. She’s at the Harrington House?”

“Just go, Petey!”

He sighed and took off to go find Pinky. Meanwhile, Miss Peters picked up her book and ran her fingers through her hair, something she did when she was anxious. “Not like we need her. Let’s just go over… act… act one, scene one. Okay? Everyone else, come down off of the stage and watch. I need Sampson, Gregory, Abram, Benvolio, Tybalt, Capulet and Lady Capulet, Montague, Lady Montague, um… Prince Escalus… and then Romeo… Jimmy. You know. You come in at the end.”

“I know,” Jimmy grumbled, pulling the curtains back while Algie and Bucky scampered to the front of the stage. Algie played Sampson, and Bucky played Gregory. Everyone else who was scheduled to come out later stood behind the curtains.

Christy and Thad made their way down the steps and stood next to Miss Peters.

“That’s all?” Miss Peters asked, skimming her book again. “Okay, fine. We don’t need anybody to move props, so you three can come out here and watch too.” Mandy, Angie, and Gary came down off of the stage, joining Christy and Thad.

“Okay,” Miss Peters started, gripping her book with excitement. “Go! And remember what I told you, Bucky, about your pronunciation.”

“Gregory, on my word, we’ll not carry coals,” Algie began. While those two morons started theatre practice off, Jimmy got to thinking.

He got to thinking about how stupid it was to begin the play with two idiots who had no clue what they were doing. Not that he had any idea, either. Jimmy had his lines down as Romeo perfectly fine, but when it came to everything else, well, he was trash. It wasn’t like he chose this path for himself, though. Miss Peters had blackmailed him into it, just like she had last year at the holiday pageant, and again this year for the stupid Romeo and Juliet play. The only reason she wanted him to play Romeo was because she thought it would attract attention for the role of Juliet. And yes, she was right. It did.

Originally Mandy and Pinky were competing for the role. Mandy stepped out because she had a thing going on with Ted, so the role was given to Pinky. But then Beatrice swooped in during tryouts, memorizing every line flawlessly and making Pinky look like a total idiot in comparison. Now Beatrice was out with gallbladder surgery, and Pinky had the part again. Jimmy was starting to think that girls were too much.

“My sword, I say! Old Montague is come, and flourishes his blade in spite of me,” Tad announced. Jimmy tried to remember when he’s supposed to come in. He knew it was after Earnest’s long ass speech about how everyone was fighting, but...

“Thou villain Capulet! Hold me not. Let me go.” This was Johnny. Johnny played his father, and Tad played Pinky’s father, and the families were supposed to have some rivalry or something. Jimmy didn’t pay all that much attention to what was happening, he just remembered his lines and when he was supposed to come in. He found the whole thing boring and unnecessary. If Miss Peters hadn’t threatened his grades again, he wouldn’t be on this stage right now. Or ever. 

Oh, and Lola played his mom. Funny, because she kind of reminded Jimmy of his mom. “Thou shalt not stir one foot to seek a foe,” Lola hissed at Tad. Nobody in the room was actually good at acting, and he wasn’t sure why Miss Peters found so much joy in watching high schoolers fumble around on a stage and reenact Shakespeare characters. 

Earnest dashed through the curtains, and although Jimmy couldn’t see it, being backstage and all, he was sure Earnest was puffing out his chest, all proud-like. You see, Earnest had this big monologue that lasted at least five hours, and he was serious about it. He made the pauses as long as possible to have more time on the stage.

“Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace!” he cried dramatically. “Profaners of this neighbor-stained steel! Will they not hear- what, ho! You men!” Earnest exclaimed. Jimmy could imagine him now, looking at the other kids on the stage with disgust. “You beasts, that quench the fire of your pernicious rage with purple fountains issuing from your veins-”

Jimmy began to tune Earnest’s voice out, and for the better. He figured he was supposed to come in sometime while Johnny and Bif were busy bickering with each other. Mercutio and Benvolio, if Jimmy remembered the names right. Or Montague. Fuck, he didn’t know. 

Didn’t Trent play Mercutio?

Jimmy shook his head. Everything was all scrambled up, and there were too many characters and people that played them in this damn school. A good thing, though, was that Earnest’s dramatic screeching was over. He heard Johnny’s voice again, which was… a comfort. At least Johnny didn’t take this whole thing too seriously.

“Did Beatrice die or something?” Jimmy heard Pinky’s voice from somewhere, and he figured Petey had found her and brought her back. Miss Peters would brush her up on her lines, and the play would be saved.

Less than two weeks, and this whole thing would be over. Any longer, and Jimmy wasn’t sure he would be able to stand it.


	2. Chapter 2

“Okay, act one scene five. Pinky and Jimmy need to come out on stage, we’re starting in the middle. This is where they’re at the ball and they’re just meeting. Bif, Tad, and Trent, behind the curtains. Okay? You remember your lines, right, Pinky?” Miss Peters smiled, glancing down at her book once more, not waiting for Pinky’s approval before saying “Go.”

Jimmy hesitated, then turned to look at Pinky. He took her hand in his own and started. “If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this. My…” he paused, only to look around and let his eyes land on Gary. He looked away soon after, trying to focus again on Pinky. “My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.” He cringed after speaking, and Gary could feel Jimmy’s embarrassment bleeding from the stage.

Although Gary found pleasure in watching Jimmy stand up on the stage and embarrass himself, he wouldn’t want to be in that position. Still, Jimmy had to deserve it, one way or another. 

“Uh… Romeo, I…” Pinky stammered, watching Miss Peters for approval. She stared back at Jimmy and mouthed something.

“”How should I know what your lines are?” Jimmy said, shaking his head and letting go of her hand. Gary made the fatal mistake of letting out a snicker. Pinky wanted the part so bad during auditions, but now that she had it, she didn’t even know her lines. The play was doomed, and all Gary wanted to do was lay back and watch it happen.

Miss Peters furrowed her eyebrows. “Pinky, you’re the only understudy for Juliet, you need to get these lines down,” she muttered before looking over at Gary. “What’s so funny? You know the next few lines, then?”

Gary couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a smartass. “I only hear it one hundred times every day after class. It’s ‘Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much.’” He crossed his arms again, looking up at Jimmy on the stage. Guess they would have to find a replacement for Juliet, or somehow get Pinky to start studying. Gary wasn’t sure the latter was possible. 

“And what comes after that?” Miss Peters urged.

“Uh… which mannerly devotion shows in this, for saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.” 

Miss Peters smiled at him. “Do you want to be Juliet?”

It was Pinky’s turn to snicker. “Yeah, bet Gary would love to kiss Jimmy in front of the whole school. Multiple times.” She smirked, with the false assurance that her role wouldn’t be passed onto somebody else. 

Trent and Lola laughed, but everyone else kept quiet, waiting for Gary to speak again. “Well, uh, no. I don’t want to be Juliet,” Gary answered honestly. Even if he didn’t have to kiss Jimmy, playing his love interest would just be… weird.

“Well, you’re going to be Juliet. Pinky, you’re Lady Capulet now, and Jimmy, you need to take one of the books and help Gary practice his lines somewhere after rehearsal. If he doesn’t have all of them down by next Monday, it’s coming out of your grade.” She looked around at the other members of the play, deciding what scene to practice next while ignoring Gary’s protests. “We’ll just keep going. Pinky, you step down, and Gary-”

“I’m not being Juliet,” Gary crossed his arms. “I’m not kissing Jimmy. Why can’t Christy or Mandy be Juliet? I know Christy’s the nurse, but she’s here as much as I am, and she knows the lines as well as I do,” he protested. Things were very clear and simple in Gary’s mind. He knew who was playing who, and had most of the scenes down from memory. “Or maybe Lola can be Juliet. Juliet and Lady Montague don’t come on stage at the same time, so she can double.”

Miss Peters sighed and reached down to pick up her coffee cup. She held it in her hand, looking between Gary and Jimmy. “Jimmy? How do you feel?”

“Well, I don’t want to kiss Gary either, ma’am. But I don’t really care who plays Juliet.”

“You don’t have to. We can take the kissing scenes out. Instead of Juliet trying to taste the poison, she can just- stab herself. And in this scene, you two will hold hands. Is that good?”

Petey came up from behind Johnny and Earnest. “Come on, Gary. Just do it. You’ll save us a lot of time here, you know. Nobody will laugh at you.”

Gary didn’t budge. He knew Pete was full of lies, anyway- as soon as he got back to the dorm he would be the laughing stock of the student body. 

Everyone stood in silence, waiting for Gary or Miss Peters to act again. Eventually, Miss Peters came up with something.

“Well, I’ll tell you something, boys.” She took a sip from her coffee cup, looking Gary dead in the eye. “How about we put the kissing scenes back in, and Gary, you go up on the stage, and I don’t take any of this out of your grades? Hm?” Miss Peters threatened, giving Gary a sarcastic smile.

Gary blinked. “How do you think Crabblesnitch would feel having two boys kissing in his school play?” He was, ultimately, scraping the bottom of the barrell for any last resort excuses he could think of to get out of doing this. Maybe he would have “gallbladder surgery,” like Beatrice had, on the week of the play. Gary wasn’t afraid to play hooky for a while, and he could always make up the work he missed.

“Oh, I’m sure he would understand. Given the circumstances.”

“What if Beatrice gets out of the hospital and she’s perfectly fine and wants her role back?” Gary huffed. “What then?” 

Miss Peters shook her head. “That’s a what-if, Gary. If she gets out and feels good enough to practice with us, I won’t stop her. But what if she doesn’t? What if there are complications and she remains hospitalized?” She looks over at Jimmy again, who has been surprisingly quiet through all of it. “We’re wasting time here. Gary, get on the stage. We’re going to go over this scene whether you like it or not.”

Gary stepped up onto the stage, giving Jimmy the death stare as he took his hand.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a

“I take thee at thy word. Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized, henceforth I never will be Romeo,” Jimmy uttered, staring down at his book. Just the way Miss Peters insisted they read it- word for word. She refused to cut off any lines or scenes, even if it would make the play easier, but Jimmy knew he would have to be up on that stage in full costume and makeup for two hours at most. The way Shakespeare wrote it, or whatever. Jimmy could’ve swore Miss Peters was in love with that guy, even if he was dead and in the ground somewhere.

Gary flipped the page. “What man art thou that, thus bescreened in night, so stumblest on my council?” 

Letting his book fall to the floor, Jimmy sighed and plopped down onto his bed. He was tired, not only from rehearsing after class, but rehearsing now, here, with Gary. Jimmy never practiced his lines outside of rehearsal, and Gary seemed to have the balcony scene down, so why did Gary need to be here at all? He even bragged about knowing the lines earlier.

Jimmy looked back over at Gary, who was now staring at him, fortunately not angrily. “You already know all of the lines, don’t you?”

“I know Juliet’s lines, and I know your lines, and I know most of Petey and Trent’s lines. Not by choice.”

“So why do we need to practice?” he grinned lazily, sitting up now. “Let’s go eat. If you already know everything, we don’t need to be here.” Jimmy stood up and slipped his feet back into his sneakers.

Gary hesitated before speaking. “Well, I don’t really know the- the death scene. Miss Peters didn’t rehearse it that much.” Jimmy turned back around to look at him, and he could immediately tell something was off, but he didn’t know what. It made sense, though- Gary hadn’t been to practice two of the days him and Beatrice rehearsed the scene.

Jimmy thought some more, and something wasn’t adding up. “Uh… you want to… practice that?” he said.

“Yeah?”

“All you do is lay there and pretend to be dead.” He grabbed his phone from his nightstand, narrowing his eyes at Gary.

Gary seemed defeated for a moment, before he spoke up again. “Well, don’t I-... I wake up afterwards and kill myself? When I find out that you’re dead?”

“That’s a different scene, I think. But I can be the other people in it, if you really don’t… I’m pretty sure it’s just a couple lines.” 

He nodded in return, but seemed disappointed. Jimmy couldn’t even begin to think of why. Gary enjoyed… practicing? 

“You just wanted me to kiss you, huh Gary?” he teased, pushing open the door and stepping out into the corridor. “That’s what it is.”

“Why the fuck would I want to kiss you?” Gary snapped, seemingly out of nowhere, although Jimmy knew it was at his prodding. He didn’t need to be so pissy, though, it was only a joke.

Jimmy continued walking with him, trying not to let Gary’s defensiveness get to him. “‘Cause I’m hot. Don’t worry, we get to do it on stage in front of everyone.” He smiled at him, but it was forced. He knew he shouldn’t be joking about kissing, because it was only a matter of time before Gary got sick of him and hit him or threw something at him. 

After considering what Jimmy said for a moment, Gary let out a breathy laugh and smiled back. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess we do.”

Jimmy was unsettled by this at first, but after getting out of the building and walking in the cool, fresh air, Jimmy decided he would try not to think much of it.

By the time he was in the lunchroom, sitting next to Gary and shoving lasagna down his throat, he was still unsettled and thinking about it. Kids were throwing taunts and jeers at them for being Romeo and Juliet somewhere across the lunchroom, but Jimmy couldn’t be bothered to pay attention. What was up with Gary? Why was he so concerned about the death scene, and why did he just shut down like that?

He turned to look at Gary one last time, and he looked completely fine. Gary was eating his sandwich, throwing death stares at the kids who were taunting them, but otherwise it didn’t seem like he was bothered by what Jimmy said anymore.

Swallowing the last of his lasagna, he stood up and went to get rid of his tray. Maybe it was nothing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont know how frequent updates will be anymore :) having a depressive episode and im super irritable. planning on locking myself in my room and writing all night tonight so i might pump out a few more chapters.

Gary stepped on stage with a scowl. The only thing on his mind were the words he said to Jimmy the night before, and what a fool he fucking made of himself. Jimmy figured it all out, and now he felt stupid, and sick to his stomach.

Miss Peters decided to rehearse the scene where Romeo and Juliet first met today, and they had to kiss.

That’s what Gary wanted last night, while they were practicing. Gary wanted to lay down and feel the tension rise as Jimmy loomed over him and edged closer and closer to his face… but Jimmy figured it out after Gary suggested practicing the scene, and he even had the nerve to make a joke about it. 

So why didn’t Jimmy seem ticked off? Or even uncomfortable at the fact that they had to actually do it now?

Gary grabbed Jimmy’s hand and faced him. This was how Gary’s first kiss was going to be. In front of a small audience, the other cast members. Gary wanted to be alone when it happened, at least, so if things got overwhelming he could bail out immediately after the kiss without much concern or questioning. But Miss Peters had to have things her way. She stood a few feet beneath him, ready to watch the upcoming disaster.

“Okay, you two. Remember to smile, you’re supposed to be in love.”

“Alright, miss,” Jimmy mumbled.

“Go,” Miss Peters said.

Jimmy turned to look at Gary, and from the corner of his eye, he could see everybody- minus Christy, Beatrice, and Bif- standing and waiting. Earnest and Tad had their phones out, ready to hit record whenever the moment struck. Gary wanted to climb down off of the stage and beat them to a pulp, but he knew he had no muscle, and that would just add more drama to this already shitty situation. “If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand, to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.” Jimmy was staring at him now, and smiling, like Miss Peters told him to.

Gary’s head swam, but he knew he didn’t have to do a good job articulating his lines. He was the under-under-study, Miss Peters’ third choice. And the way Jimmy was looking at him? He wasn’t sure anybody could think straight under those circumstances. “Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this,” he paused, remembering Earnest and Tad’s phones. He could do something to stop it, couldn’t he? He could get off of the stage?

“For saints have-” Gary paused, plastering on a fake smile, “...have... hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.” He broke eye contact with Jimmy to look at Earnest and Tad again. He could stop this. He could tell Miss Peters his dad would beat him if he kissed a boy, which wasn’t true, but it was an understandable reason to not be Juliet. Or he could say he forgot his lines. He had a few more coming up before Jimmy was supposed to kiss him. 

But that was also a lie. He practiced all night with Jimmy, and Jimmy would know something was up… and he knew Gary just wanted to kiss him, and that it was no wonder Gary pretended to forget his lines. Because he was nervous, and Jimmy would be ready to point that out whenever he decided to bail.

“Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?”

Gary was overthinking. He needed to say his stupid lines and kiss and then get off of the stage. Christy was supposed to interrupt this scene anyway, it wasn’t like Romeo and Juliet would be standing around and swapping spit and confessing their love for each other for thirty minutes straight.

“Gary, are you alright?”

Gary looked down at Miss Peters. “Yeah, sorry,” he whispered, locking eyes with Jimmy again. “Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.”

“O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do.” Jimmy moved closer, and Gary could tell immediately that something was wrong. His entire body tensed up, and he realized that he didn’t want it to be this way. Gary wasn’t supposed to have his first kiss now, was that it? Or was he going to do something stupid and fuck everything up?

“Goddamn it, Jimmy!” Miss Peters screeched, thrusting her book down onto the table in front of her. “You don’t kiss yet. You have two more lines. Juliet has one.” She exhaled and picked her book back up. “Go on, start where you ended.”

“Oh. Shit, sorry, Miss Peters. Uh… O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.” 

Gary was relieved, yet still panicked. “Saints do not more, through grant for prayers’ sake,” he said, letting his hand go limp in Jimmy’s grasp. He wasn’t sure if the sweat was coming from him or from Jimmy.

“Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take,” Jimmy rushed, craning his head closer to Gary’s with no warning before kissing him smack on the mouth. It wasn’t a peck, either, like Gary expected it to be. It was a full on lip kiss, but it wasn’t… bad, by any means.

He pulled away and went on as normal. “Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.”

“Gary looks like he just got hit by a truck!” Pinky yelled from where she was standing. This made a few people chuckle and snort, but Miss Peters and some of the other girls were not amused. 

“Shut up!” Gary yelled back, before looking at Jimmy again. Pinky was right, though- he felt like he’d just been hit by a truck. But it was okay. The kiss was over, and they wouldn’t have to do it again unless Miss Peters wanted to redo the scene, which would be psychotic at this rate. 

He stared back at Jimmy, who looked mostly amused. Why wasn’t Jimmy embarrassed, like he was?

Right. Because Jimmy didn’t have a huge thing for Gary, like Gary did for him. 

“Then have my lips the sin that they have took,” Gary said, letting out an accidental huff after he finished his line. Being reminded that Jimmy didn’t like him wore down on his spirits considerably.

“Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again.” Jimmy leaned forward and kissed him a second time. Gary was completely unaware of any second kiss that was supposed to happen. After Jimmy pulled away as normal, he side-eyed Miss Peters for any objection. She wasn’t even watching them, her eyes glued strictly to the book. Maybe a second kiss was in the script after all, Gary couldn’t say. He didn’t particularly like the parts where Jimmy and Beatrice kissed, so before, he never paid them much attention.

He was a little shaky on his feet. Gary squeezed Jimmy’s hand absentmindedly. “You kiss by the book.”

Christy came from behind the curtains, rushing forward. “Madam, your mother craves a word with you.”

“What is her mother?” Jimmy asked as Gary slipped behind the curtains momentarily. He was relieved to be alone, even if it was just for a second. 

Gary sat down on the cold wooden flooring, catching his breath. He decided that kissing Jimmy wasn’t all that bad, especially since Jimmy was the one who had to initiate it. All Gary had to do was stand there and try not to die from embarrassment. 

After all, kissing him was only mildly traumatizing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if u got any long term smopkins/other ship fic ideas that u think i should write let me know. slow burn is best

Beatrice was back in school, which was both a blessing and a nightmare for Gary. A blessing because it meant she would take her role again, and he wouldn’t have to perform in front of everybody- a nightmare, because she could say she wasn’t feeling well at any time, and Gary would have to take her place. But for now, he was back on props with Angie and Mandy.

His stance on kissing Jimmy was still undecided. Gary liked it, but he knew it only happened because they were in a play together, which made it… less special. Still, at least he got to do it, even if it didn’t mean anything. It was nice to pretend sometimes.

“Beatrice, dear, are you sure you’re okay?” Miss Peters asked. “If you’re feeling faint, you know, you could always sit out somewhere. Or… I can have someone take you back to the dorms, if that’s what you need.”

“No, no, I’ll be okay,” Beatrice reassured her with a smile. “I’m just a little… tired.” Gary stared at her stomach. Bloated, too. She couldn’t go two seconds without burping, and she looked like she was about eight weeks pregnant. “Um… uh… where…?” This was her second day back in school after surgery- she came back on a Sunday, when there was no practice- and she had to sit out and rest every few minutes, even if she insisted on pushing through.

Miss Peters closed her book and set it down on the table. “Dear, I think you’re better off just handing the role to Gary. He knows all of the lines, a-”

“No!” she screeched, reaching up to fix her hair. “I can do it, I… I just forgot where we were.” Beatrice smoothed down her skirt and gave a final glance at the group Gary was standing in.

Jimmy spoke up. “We’re at… uh… I take thee at thy word, call me but love, and I’ll be new bapti-” 

“Okay. What man art thou that, thus bescreened in night, so stumblest on my counsel?” she rehearsed, interrupting Jimmy just like she had Miss Peters. Gary was starting to think this girl had some anger issues.

Jimmy stared up at Beatrice. They had Beatrice sit on a ladder for the balcony part, because the art kids hadn’t managed to build a balcony yet. “By a name. I know not how to tell thee who I am. My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, because it is an enem-”

With no warning, Beatrice projectile vomited all over the ground beneath her. Jimmy took a step back, although none had splattered on him. “Oh, shit. You okay?” he asked, staring down at the puddle of bile and vomit. Some had gotten on her socks, and her shoes, but her uniform was okay. Good for her. If she got any on her blouse, it would be hard to wash.

Taking a step forward, Gary couldn’t help but stare at the puke. It was yellow, and had pink chunks in it. Gary wondered what she had eaten, although he didn’t care too much. He had the role back now, and he wanted to curl up in a ball and die. There was no way she was going to recover in the next week, by Friday night. The first day they were supposed to perform in front of teachers and parents.

If Beatrice had kept her vomit in for at least two more hours, he wouldn’t be in this position. This was all her fault.

“M… Mhm,” she murmured, lifting herself up by her arms and attempting to climb down the ladder. With her luck, though, she managed to slip on her own vomit and fall onto the floor with a soft cry. Now Gary was starting to feel a little bad for her. The situation was embarrassing- imagine slipping and falling into your own vomit!- but she was probably nauseous as hell, on top of that. 

Jimmy stepped forward and helped her off of the floor. She had started to cry at some point, although Gary wasn’t sure when it happened. The room was dead silent, minus her sobs and Jimmy’s quiet reassurances. He didn’t seem to care that he was getting Beatrice’s barf all over him.

Miss Peters stared at both of them in horror, before leaving the room to go to her office. An announcement came over the loudspeaker. “Can we get a janitor in the auditorium? Please. A janitor to the auditorium.”

After Jimmy helped Beatrice off of the stage, Miss Peters had come back out. “Mandy, help Beatrice to the girls’ dorm. Make sure she gets washed up and in bed. You know you aren’t allowed in there, Hopkins.”

“Whatever,” he muttered, standing in place to help Beatrice keep her balance as Mandy scrambled to the front.

Mandy plastered a fake smile on her face as she took Beatrice into her arms. “Of course, Miss Peters. I’ll help her get cleaned up.” Gary stared at her, knowing what that meant. Once Beatrice was out of the auditorium, she was going to be on her own. He couldn’t imagine Mandy helping her all the way to her room, let alone out of the building. This was a girl with a reputation. 

“Jimmy, you go clean yourself up, get in new clothes. And Petey… no. Gary. You follow him. I don’t want him thinking he can just skip practice and stay in his room,” Miss Peters demanded. Gary was a little frustrated that she had picked him, but at least he didn’t have to stand around and smell Beatrice’s post-gallbladder surgery vomit. He followed Jimmy out of the back door without protesting.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have an upload schedule now. a/b 
> 
> will post once every two days unless things Happen anyway thats all

Jimmy scrunched up his nose as he grabbed a rag and began to wipe Beatrice’s vomit off of his white sneakers. Gary watched him from behind, equally disgusted with the current situation.

Jimmy was freshly showered and in a new uniform. He felt much better not smelling like vomit anymore, but his shoes were still a problem. The rubber parts would be easy enough to clean, but the fabric? He was sure that stuff was stained forever, unless he bought bleach from town. He figured he was going to have to do that, or else there was no saving them. Jimmy wasn’t one to care much about his appearance, but having vomit-stained shoes was lower than even his own standards.

“How come you’re okay with kissing me in front of everybody?” Gary asked, unprompted. He stared at Gary’s reflection in the mirror as he thought over how to respond.

Why was he okay with kissing Gary in front of everybody? Well, it was easy. Gary was attractive, and Jimmy could pretty much kiss anybody, as long as their teeth were inside their mouth and their face was clean. “Kissing isn’t that bad,” he spoke.

“Kissing you is,” he said, crossing his arms. 

Jimmy grabbed a stray toothbrush and started to go at the side of his sneaker with the bristles, and some Dove soap that happened to be on the sink as well. “What about it? Do I need to start using chapstick?”

Gary stared at the now empty cup that used to hold the toothbrush. “Yeah, and maybe try to stop being so ugly.”

A smile crossed Jimmy’s lips. “Not everybody can be as hot as you, Gary. I know your standards are really high, but come on.” He ran the faucet to clean the soap off, and frowned when he realized his shoes were now soaking wet. Jimmy thought he could pass the time cleaning his shoes, and then show up for the last fifteen minutes of rehearsal, but it looked like he was going to have to grab a new pair from his dorm anyway. He let his right sneaker fall off of the sink as he started working at the left one. He wondered if the poor janitor was having the time of his life back in the auditorium, cleaning all of those pink chunks up.

Then he thought about Beatrice, too, and wondered if she was okay. Mandy probably fucked her over after leaving the auditorium, but he hoped someone had enough sense to go out after her and help her back. 

Then he realized Gary was being unusually quiet. Unusual for a situation like this, where the two of them were talking, alone. 

“Can’t come up with a response? Or do you not want to talk to ugly people anymore?” Teasing Gary was fun, because he was sure to give a reaction- but he had to watch himself if he went too far. Jimmy didn’t think he was going too far this time.

Gary stood in the same place, his arms crossed from earlier, unmoving. “Shut up.”

“So humble. Teach me your ways, Gary.” Jimmy set the toothbrush back in the cup without bothering to wash it off. He hoped it was Algie’s toothbrush. Only Algie would be stupid enough to leave it in the bathroom, where everybody could touch it and use it. 

“Just shut up. I’m done with this conversation.”

Jimmy had the feeling that Gary was genuinely upset with him, so he started thinking of ways he could attempt to fix it. “I’m not… saying you’re ugly. If that’s what you think I’m doing.”

“So what are you saying?”

“I’m saying you’re not ugly.”

Gary wasn’t satisfied with that answer. “What am I?”

Jimmy turned the faucet and ran his shoe under it, wondering if it would be moldy the next day. Is that how shoes worked? “Not ugly. Kinda hot, if you want the truth.” Gary had pretty attractive features, if you took away his personality. But Jimmy could deal with dating him, if he had to. Gary could be enjoyable to hang out with, if he wanted to. The problem was, Gary didn’t usually want to.

“What?”

He shut the tap off and threw his other shoe in the corner. If someone stole his vomit-stained shoes, he wouldn’t be too disappointed, and if they didn’t, he would clean them with some bleach after making that trip to town. “Said you’re kind of hot. Generally.”

“Uh,” Gary mumbled, letting his arms fall to the side. “Un-generally?”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Jimmy said, now smiling. He left the sink and started to go down the stairs to his dorm. Was Gary really this easily flustered? If he was, Jimmy could have some fun with that.

“You… you said generally. What’s un-generally?”

He turned to look back at Gary, who was following him. “Like… my opinion?”

“Yeah. If generally is everybody else’s, then uh. What’s..”

Jimmy pushed open the door to his bedroom. “Why do you care so much? You already- uh, I already said you were hot. Thought you didn’t care about my opinion, anyway. ‘Cause, I’m ugly. You know.”

Gary crossed his arms again, waiting by the door as Jimmy rummaged around in his messy closet for another pair of shoes. “I was just… wondering. Just curiosity.”

“Fine. Still hot, in my opinion. Since you care so much.” Jimmy sat on the hardwood floor and started to put on a pair of black converse that he found. 

Gary swallowed his spit and stared at Jimmy from the doorway. “Oh.”

“Yeah. In fact, I think you’re really hot. The hottest.”

Jimmy finished his laces and stood up, making his way to the door. Gary turned and walked down the hall. “Fuck you,” he told him, refusing to make eye contact.

Jimmy caught up with him, the grin on his face starting to grow. “I’m still not joking,” he whispered. It was the truth, but he loved getting reactions out of Gary. 

“Fuck you,” Gary said one last time. That was the only thing he would say to Jimmy until they got back into the auditorium.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what's up. first update in a while, i really like how i wrote the end of this one! this will be finished on the 20th if i remember to update

Beatrice stormed through the auditorium, passing up the seats in the lower half of the room. “Miss Peters! I feel better. I can be Juliet now.”

It happened to be Thursday, one day before the show began. They had rehearsal until 5:30, then more rehearsal Friday afternoon. After that, they had to perform the show at 7:30 on Friday night, after a two hour break to eat and get ready. Everybody in the auditorium turned to look at Beatrice, some out of annoyance, some out of curiosity.

Gary was one who turned out of annoyance.

Over the days, he learned to actually enjoy rehearsing with Jimmy- the kissing, the light flirting, the weird looks that Jimmy would give him from behind the curtains when Trent or Algie fucked up their lines- it was all growing on him. He might have been indecisive after getting the role of Juliet, but now he had his mind made. As embarrassing as it was to be a girl in the school play, he liked being around Jimmy, even if he didn’t want to admit it.

Miss Peters turned around. That day, they had been rehearsing act three, scene three, where the Friar (Petey), Romeo (Jimmy), and the nurse (Christy) were discussing the Prince banishing Romeo from Verona. Boring, Gary would admit- he liked the part where Bif (Benvolio) and Russell (Tybalt) had to sword fight much more, as did Jimmy, but they had to rehearse all parts equally.

“Beatrice?”

Beatrice stood in front of Miss Peters, her head tilted. “Yes?”

“Why don’t you sit this one out?” Miss Peters suggested. “I think Gary is more familiar with his role by now.”

“But I know all of the lines!” Beatrice said, clenching her fists. “I’ve known them since you announced we were doing Romeo and Juliet for the play! I’m a much better actor than him anyway, I know the show is tomorrow night, but I-”

“Stop,” she went on, giving her a warning glare. “It’ll be okay. You can have the lead in the next play we do, if there’s a female lead.”

Beatrice shook her head wildly. “I need this to put on my college resume! And I’ve practiced longer than he has! I’ve done this for months, and Gary has only been at it for a week.” She turned to face Gary. “You know I’m right. And you don’t like kissing Jimmy anyway.”

Gary kept silent. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say to this- he did like kissing Jimmy, after all- but he had no argument. He wasn’t supposed to like these things. Holding Jimmy’s hand, staring into his eyes as they rehearsed soliloquies… but he did. And he wasn’t going to give up his role. Not for Beatrice, not for anybody.

“This is only your sophomore year. You were in the play last year, and you can be in the play for the next two years, one year off won’t hurt. Future colleges will understand you had gallbladder surgery.” Miss Peters crossed her arms. “If you really need this year, you can say you worked on the lights or did props in the background. I don’t think any of us will object to that. It’s still a credit.”

Jimmy stared at the three of them from his place on the stage. He wasn’t exactly grinning… but he was giving Gary a look, smiling with his eyes. Maybe he found this whole thing funny. “Plus!” Beatrice went on, not noticing Jimmy on the stage, “Gary is miserable with his role. Any boy would be miserable wearing a wig and kissing other boys.” She took a step closer to him. “Unless you’re gay.”

“Enough.” Miss Peters said. “That’s enough. We have work to do.” She turned to face the stage again. “I think Petey had the last line. Go on.”

“No! This was my role!”

Miss Peters sighed and shook her head. She didn’t speak for a while, at a loss for words. Gary hoped she wouldn’t give in to Beatrice. Who did Beatrice think she was, anyway? Bursting through the doors and demanding that she have her role back after missing a week and a half of practice? But mostly, he found the whole thing annoying. Beatrice knew how Miss Peters was when she was in a bad mood. There was no point in pissing her off even further- Peters wouldn’t agree to anything after being pushed so far.

“Jimmy?”

“Yeah? Uh, yes ma’am?”

“Who would you rather have as Juliet?” Miss Peters smiled. “Gary, right?”

Jimmy looked from Miss Peters, to Gary, and then to Beatrice. He nodded.

“That’s settled. Beatrice, you can go now.” Miss Peters pulled down her sleeve and checked the time on her watch. “We have thirty minutes left, so once we finish this one, we’re going all the way back to the first scene. Someone track down Johnny… uh, Petey. You. Once this scene is over you need to go find him.”

Petey nodded, about to protest the fact that he was the errand boy, before Beatrice went off again. “You pressured him into it, Miss Peters. Didn’t she, Jimmy?” Beatrice pleaded. “You like rehearsing with me more. Why would you like kis-”

“Beatrice!” Miss Peters snapped. “OUT!”

Without another word, Beatrice huffed and went back out of the auditorium the way she came. She made sure to slam the door when she left.

Gary was glad to have all of that out of the way.


	8. Chapter 8

“These violent delights have violent ends and in their triumph die, like fire and powder, which, as they kiss, consume. The sweetest honey is loathsome in his own deliciousness and in the taste confounds the appetite. Therefore love moderately. Long love doth so. Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.”

Silence settled around the auditorium. Petey glanced around awkwardly, looking mostly at Jimmy as he finished his lines. “Uh…”

“Gary!” Miss Peters snapped. “Get out here!”

He came quickly through the curtains, an irritable look on his face. “What?”

“You were supposed to come in! After Petey says all that, you have to come in and hug Jimmy, and then Petey keeps talking. In the middle of his lines.” She puts a hand on her head. “Do it again.”

Petey re-rehearsed his verses, allowing Gary to come in at the right time and hug Jimmy. Everyone was in costume- it was the day of the show, and Miss Peters was calling this a “dress rehearsal.” AKA, a full run-through of every scene. They had practice until 6 PM that night, where they would get thirty minutes to eat, and after that another hour to get ready and make sure everything was in place. All of this had taken its toll on Gary. He was missing his lines, his entrances- everything.

“Here comes the lady. Oh, so light a foot with ne’er wear out the everlasting flint. A lover may bestride the gossamers that idles in the wanton summer air, and yet not fall. So light is vanity.”

All of Petey’s lines were merging together in Gary’s head. The stupid wig he had on was too scratchy, and his sweat made strands of the fake hair stick to the back of his neck. Arms still around Jimmy, he said, “Good even to my ghostly confessor.” When he spoke, he didn’t even attempt a feminine voice- he never had to begin with, so why now? It was obvious he was a guy, and there wasn’t any hiding it. Plus, his girl voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Jimmy confirmed it late that night while they were practicing in his dorm when they were trying things out.

“Romeo shall thank thee, daughter, for us both,” Petey spoke, giving Jimmy and Gary an odd look. It wasn’t the first time the three of them rehearsed this scene, so what was that look supposed to mean?

“As much to him, else is his thanks too much,” Gary said. His lines were boring now- things seemed to lose meaning when you rehearsed them a million times every afternoon. He wasn’t even sure what the lines truly meant anymore- if his mind weren’t scrambled like a goose egg, he might be able to figure it out.

Jimmy nudged Gary away, a sign that he should probably let go of him now. Gary stepped away, feeling stupid that he kept hugging him in the first place. “Ah, Juliet, the measure of thy joy. Be heaped like mine, and that thy skill be more…”

Gary stopped paying attention. He stared at the ground as Jimmy spoke, and when he finished, Miss Peters yelled at him again. “You missed your line. Go take a breather outside or something. Somebody go with him.”

“I will,” Jimmy volunteered.

Miss Peters suddenly had second thoughts about this. “No. Don’t go outside. Just… behind the curtains somewhere, I don’t want you two leaving the auditorium.” She glanced down at her book. “We’re going to do the final scene, I’ll stand in for Gary while he’s gone.. Thad? Earnest?”

Jimmy grabbed Gary’s arm and led him behind the curtains, pulling off Gary’s wig for him and letting it drop to the floor. “Hey. Let’s talk.”

“Sorry,” Gary murmured. “I-”

He shushed him, pulling him further back into the room. Jimmy opened the costume closet and turned the light on, sitting down in the corner holding all of last year’s costumes. “Sit down,” he said, patting the spot next to him on the floor.

Gary shut the door behind him and sat down next to Jimmy, wondering what was going to happen next.

“What’s the worst thing that can happen, Gary? I know you’re nervous about tonight, but it’s no different than being in front of the other people in the play. Parents will love it. They’ll be less critical, they love corny shit like that.”

He smiled, but his fears weren’t eased. “What if I… I don’t know, I just ruin it? And everybody hates me?”

“Everybody already hates you, I don’t think fucking up a play will do much in that regard.”

It was the truth. Gary nodded at this, feeling the fresh air around his neck. It was a relief to have that stupid wig off, yet he knew he would have to wear it for the rest of the night. “Except you.”

“Except me. I don’t hate you.” He put an arm around Gary’s shoulders. “You’re not gonna fuck up the whole play by fumbling a line. Come on. Even if you do mess up a line, it’s not your fault. Everyone’s going to screw up tonight. Just don’t make a big deal out of it, okay?”

He swallowed his spit. “Yeah. Okay.” Gary wasn’t sure if he felt any better, but being alone and away from everyone else helped drastically. “What if I don’t come in at the right time?”

“Well, then people would laugh. At least they would get some entertainment through all of this boring Shakespeare shit.” Jimmy smiled at him, lightly digging his nails into Gary’s shoulder and massaging him through the shitty costume fabric. “You probably won’t remember how you fucked up in act two, scene four in twenty years. Come on, Gare.”

Gare.

“What if I trip and fall and die?”

“Like Beatrice?” he asked, laughing. “Wait, I don’t think you’ll die from falling. Unless you break your skull, but you won’t, you won’t fall down from a high enough distance to crack your skull.”

Gary shook his head. “The balcony. What if I fall off of that and then die and then everybody sees it?” He knew he was being ridiculous, but Jimmy asked what the worst thing that could happen was… so he answered.

“Not far enough. Beatrice did it and she’s alive, you know the ladder is roughly the same height.” Jimmy pulled Gary closer to him, letting Gary’s head rest on his shoulder. “Whatever happens, you will be okay. And I won’t be mad at you, even if you come in at all of the wrong times and hug me all the way through the wedding scene and trip and fall.”

Gary couldn’t help but smile at this. As he sat there in the costume closet, with his head on Jimmy’s shoulder, he really did hope that Jimmy was right. And that everything would turn out like he said, even if someone did fuck up.

Little did he know, he had nothing to worry about. On his end, at least.


	9. Chapter 9

Miss Peters stood in front of the audience, wearing a black dress that looked more fit for a funeral than the first showing of a play. She lifted the microphone to her lips, and as she began to talk, Jimmy cast Gary a look that meant ‘oh fuck.’

She went on her mile long speech about how much everybody worked on the play and how long it took and how many difficulties they had and yada yada ya. In the soft light behind the curtains, the students whispered and fixed each other’s costumes obsessively. Well, the girls, at least. Angie and Mandy, who were both on props, didn’t have a costume. They wore all black, but obsessed over Pinky and Christy’s costumes, leaving Lola in the corner with Johnny. The two of them were talking about something that looked pretty serious.

“I’m going to fucking die,” Gary whispered matter-of-factly to Jimmy, who was only a few feet away. 

Jimmy shook his head no and dismissed him with his hand. “You’ll be fine,” he mouthed. Gary was jealous of him; he didn’t look nervous at all. In fact, he looked… almost excited. That was a horrifying thought- why was Jimmy so excited to go on stage in front of everybody and embarrass himself? Kiss a boy? Recite Shakespeare’s lines for two hours straight in an ugly, stuffy costume? Jimmy baffled him sometimes.

Miss Peters’ rant was over before Gary knew it. He stood in place, watching Cornelius daintily pull back the curtains and step onto the stage. Cornelius was the “chorus,” basically a narrator that spoiled the entire story for everybody before they got to watch it. Gary could’ve swore his bladder was filled to the top, even if he had gone just before Miss Peters gathered everybody twenty minutes ago.

Cornelius said his verses. Jimmy stepped closer to him and grabbed Gary’s shaking right hand, giving him a small smile as a reassurance.

Even though he had until act one, scene three to calm his nerves, Jimmy’s hand holding didn’t reassure him in the slightest.

-

It seemed like a haze, but Gary managed to get through act one, scene three, where him, Pinky, and Christy stood around, discussing his (or rather, Juliet’s) virginity. In fact, Gary thought he did pretty good that time. He came in at the right time (although it was only after a few verses, so maybe it didn’t count?), and said the right lines. He spent most of his time behind the curtains zoning out, trying not to think too much. His next cue- when he entered on act one, scene five, was when Ivan said “Be brisk awhile, and the longer liver take all.” Not that he had to watch- Tad, Russell, and Pinky entered the stage the same time he did, and he only had to stand around a bit before his scene with Jimmy. 

It was nerve-wracking. Finally, Pinky and Tad left through the curtain. Gary followed suit, and could hear Russell somewhere behind him. Russell played Tybalt. Gary wasn’t sure if that role even fit him or not, but he didn’t have time to think about it. He stood near the servingmen and dawdled like Miss Peters told him to until Russell left the scene again. There was something going on with Tybalt and Capulet, but Gary couldn’t remember the specifics. All of his focus was watching Russell from the corner of his eye and trying his absolute hardest not to look at the audience and freak himself out.

Once Russell had left the stage, Jimmy’s words rang loud and clear from somewhere behind him. “If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine,” Jimmy spoke, as Gary felt Jimmy grasp his hand, “the gentle sin is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.”

Gary smiled down at him, reminding himself not to look at the crowd watching. The initial shock of a boy playing Juliet had been gone for a while, but it was still on Gary’s mind. How stupid and embarrassing this whole thing was finally kicked in. Heat rose to his cheeks, but he knew he couldn’t spend time standing around without saying his lines. So he did. “Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this, for saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.” He felt winded after getting everything out, yet relieved. Gary knew he still had a long way to go, but if he could keep this streak up…

“Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?” Jimmy asked. Gary could’ve swore he was blushing too. Not only his cheeks, but his nose, and his ears.. and god. Jimmy’s smile. His eyes lingered on it before returning his gaze to Jimmy’s eyes.

“Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.”

Jimmy grinned wider. “O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.” 

Adjusting his grip on Jimmy’s hand, he stared down at him, seemingly forgetting everything around him. The audience, the harsh show lights ahead of him, making it feel a million degrees hotter than it actually was; all of it was null. He was doing this, and he was doing it well, just like Jimmy promised. “Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake.”

Something shifted in Jimmy’s facial expression, although he couldn’t tell what initially. “Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take.”

He waited for a kiss, yet received none. Gary glared at Jimmy, trying to mentally urge him on. Jimmy was completely frozen in place.

“Come on, Hopkins! GET IT!” someone yelled from beneath them. “GET SOME!”

This woke him up. Jimmy tilted his head and stood on his tip-toes to kiss Gary, and although it was on the worse end of kisses he received from Jimmy during the play, it was over with. “Thus from my lips by thine, my sin is purged,” he said, out of breath.

Someone- presumably the man from earlier- let out a whoop. Gary tried his best to ignore this. “Then have my lips the sin that they have took.”

“Sin from thy lips? O trespass greatly urged! Give me my sin again.” And without hesitation, Jimmy kissed him. Gary was glad there was no awkward intermission of silence this time.

“You kiss by the book.”

Christy tore back the curtains. “Madam, your mother craves a word with you.” Gary was relieved to move away from Jimmy and over to Pinky’s side of the stage, out of the spotlight, even if it was just for a second. Gary had more lines with the nurse after everyone left the stage, but he had most of the kissing over with. What a relief- he could stand behind the curtains with peace of mind this time. He wouldn’t do so bad through the rest of the play, because he was on a fucking roll. And he knew it.

-

It seemed like Gary had been weaving back and forth through the curtains for weeks when act five, scene three came. His final line was “There rust and let me die,” before stabbing himself with a prop knife and “dying.” He felt the nice, cool floor against his cheek as he laid there and listened to Earnest, Pinky and Tad bicker over his (Juliet’s) dead body. Jimmy laid “dead” on the floor too, only a few feet away from where he was. While he laid there, on the ground, he was filled with a sense of relief and satisfaction. He would only have to do this two more times- tomorrow, Saturday, at 8 PM, and the day after that, Sunday, at 11 AM. After that, it was all over. No more wigs, no more iambic pentameter, no more kissing Jimmy.

Oh. Right. No more kissing Jimmy.

And what was that? Earlier, when he hesitated, and the only thing that could bring his attention back was some random man from the audience?

“What misadventure is so early up, that calls our person from our morning rest?” Earnest snapped. Gary thought he played the role quite nicely- that was, an annoying, entitled bitch. He couldn’t really think with Earnest, Tad and Pinky bickering from above him. His mind was worn down, and he thought a nice long shower would do him nicely when he got back to the dorms. Gary would be able to get all of the stupid makeup off in there, too.

After his shower, he would ask Jimmy what that was all about, if he wasn’t asleep. Maybe the two of them would laugh it off.

Gary swallowed his spit again, vaguely aware that he wasn’t supposed to move (because he was dead) but not really caring. He wanted to get up and confront Jimmy now. It was like all of the weariness from his bones evaporated. Gary focused on Jimmy from the corner of his left eye, trying to decide between getting yelled at or just laying there. It’s wasn’t like Jimmy would cooperate and actually talk to him if he just got up and went behind the curtains in the middle of a scene, so he decided to stay.

“But I can give thee more, for I will raise her statue in pure gold, that whiles Verona by that name is known, there shall no figure at such rate be set as that of true and faithful Juliet.” Johnny’s lines were comforting. It meant that the play was coming to an end. Soon, the outer curtains would be pulled back, Miss Peters would scamper on stage again in her ugly ass dress, and everybody would bow while the audience cheered and blah blah blah. 

The only part that mattered to Gary was that he would get to talk to Jimmy back in the dorms.


	10. Chapter 10

Jimmy pulled the blankets over his head and buried his face in the soft pillows beneath him. Usually he wasn’t so quick to go to bed, but he was exhausted after a four hour rehearsal and two hour show. He didn’t even shower- he figured he could do that in the morning, when Petey or Gary or some random prefect inevitably woke him up. And he didn’t care about being sweaty. That’s what people washed their sheets and pillowcases for anyway.

He heard some footsteps in the hallway but ignored them, assuming it was the other people in the play getting to bed late too. Everyone who participated had to stay after to clean everything up and get the props back in order. Gary spent some time in the bathroom, probably washing all of that caked crap off of his face, but when he came out Jimmy tried his best to avoid him. Not that Gary was annoying specifically- but everyone got pretty annoying when all you wanted to do was sink into your mattress and forget everything.

Ringing started in his ears, and he knew that someone had pushed his bedroom door open, like a sixth sense. He unconsciously wondered if that’s what his biology teacher meant by ultrasonic communication in cats, but he wasn’t entirely sure what “ultrasonic” meant in the first place, so he pushed the thought away. It was Gary, standing in his doorway. “Hi,” he said, approaching the bed.

“How are you not tired?” Jimmy mumbled, pulling the blanket a bit lower on his face. Gary hadn’t turned on any lights, but they could still see each other from the moonlight in the window. He wanted to try to convince Gary to leave him alone- he didn’t know what he wanted, but it couldn’t be good news, and if it was good news, it could wait. 

Gary shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed. “I have a question, James.”

This couldn’t be anything good. Not when Gary called him “James.” Jimmy rolled his eyes and sat up. “What? I’m tired. Better make it quick.”

Gary’s facial expression shifted. Was it… hurt that he was seeing? Or had he taken offense to it? “Uh, I just wanted to know why you hesitated before kissing me. The first time. You acted so confident before the show, and I w-”

“I don’t have time for this,” Jimmy interrupted, pulling his blanket back over his face. This time, he wasn’t using his tiredness as an excuse. He genuinely didn’t want to answer the question. It meant facing his crush on Gary, and that was too much for his overworked mind at the moment. Tomorrow, he told himself, he would do it. He would tell Gary the real reason why- and if he got rejected, so what? Of course it wouldn’t work like this after he woke up, he’d find a million excuses not to confess and to hold everything back, but he wanted to go to bed and this was a way to get out of confronting the issue: making promises to himself he wouldn’t keep.

The room was silent for a moment, and Jimmy was almost convinced that Gary was about to stand up and leave the room out of anger, but no. Gary wasn’t going to give up so easy this time. “Just tell me, and I’ll be out. Gone. You can sleep.”

“What if you don’t like the answer?” Jimmy said without thinking, poking holes in Gary’s promise. “What if it makes you have more questions? Are you going to leave me alone then?”

Gary crossed his arms. “Please. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner you can sleep.”

“Why do you even care, Gary? It’s fucking obvious. It’s because I was nervous.” He crossed his arms back, almost mockingly, although he didn’t mean it that way. “God. Leave me alone.”

Gary fell silent, before picking it up again. “Can I stay in here?”

“And annoy me? No. We can talk about it tomorrow. Please, Gary.”

“I thought you said there was no reason to be nervous,” Gary goes on anyway. “I thought you were fine with kissing anybody in the school as long as their face was clean and their teeth were inside their mouth or whatever. That’s what you said. So why did you hesitate with me? I know it’s not because you’re scared of people thinking you’re gay. You’re not.”

Jimmy wanted it all to be over. “Take a wild guess.”

Gary threaded his finger through a hole in Jimmy’s comforter. “I don’t want to,” he said, sounding small and frail. “I want you to tell me.”

“Because I like you. I have this whole time, and you can go tell everyone in school if you want. I don’t care at this point.” Jimmy wasn’t angry anymore. Only defeated. “Please just fucking leave.”

He looked up from the loose strands of fabric. “Wait, actually?”

“Yeah. Don’t be afraid to hurt my feelings. I’ll get over it.” Jimmy wasn’t sure if this was a lie or not, but he hoped it was true. Gary didn’t like him- could never like him- and was about to have his heart broken. It would be true one day.

“Are you, like, sure?”

“Yes, Gary! Fuck! I’m fucking sure!” he snapped. Jimmy could feel a faint stinging in the corner of his eye, and knew the waterworks might start while Gary was still there to witness it if this didn’t end fast.

Gary did not seem to acknowledge his irritability. In fact, he took things a million times slower than Jimmy would’ve liked. “I thought you were joking,” he said with a small smile.

“I’m not.” Jimmy’s voice was dark. All he wanted was some sleep, not to confront his crush about his true feelings after spending over six hours being around fucking theatre kids of all people. Most of them didn’t care about their role, but there were ones who were particularly exhausting, like Earnest and Pinky. Sometimes even Petey got too into his role.

“I like you too,” Gary whispered quickly, as if he were afraid someone was listening or that they were running out of time to speak. “I’m glad you told me.” Still a faint whisper, but his words weren’t merging all into one like they had the first time.

Jimmy thought that was nice and all, but his brain had turned to mush, and he couldn’t really comprehend what was happening- not to its full extent, anyway- so he sunk deeper beneath his blanket and eyed Gary as he did so. “That’s cool.”

Gary stood up and shoved him in the arm. “I thought you were better at this, Hopkins.”

He grinned as he turned his head to face the door, feeling his warm cheek against the cool cotton pillow. “Thought wrong. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Without a word, Gary smiled and left the room, leaving Jimmy all alone underneath his blankets and in the dark. As cute as Gary was, and as exciting as the thought of dating him could be- the only thing he really needed right now was sleep.


End file.
